The Commander’s eyes softened. “’Tis why I have placed you with Tori and Thomas.”
“If I may ask, my Lord. What is so important about these two? They seem…they seem…” Zarall suddenly wished he’d not spoken up.
The Commander laughed, a calming laughter that put Zarall at ease. “Disorganized? Confused? Weak, even?” His kind but authoritative eyes shifted between them. “I cannot work through those who are wise and strong in their own might. It is crucial that these two survive to complete their mission, for not only their souls are at stake, but also the souls of dozens more.”
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Matthew 10:39
Chapter 13
Tori sank to the dirt floor of a shack they’d found in the middle of an abandoned orange grove. Every inch of her body ached in exhaustion from the tips of her toes to the pain pinching across her shoulders. Leaning her head back on the wooden walls, she lifted a silent prayer for safety during the night, because she doubted she could take another step.
And from the looks of the rest of them, she wasn’t the only one.
Sara curled up in a ball beside her, shaking and shivering, though the night was warm. Brianna sat off to the side, nursing her baby, while Carla promptly perched beside Thomas, who lowered to sit across from Tori, yanking back his hoodie. Even in the evening shadows, she could tell his face was pale, eyes misty, and the color had drained from his lips. Stubble lined his jaw, making him look like a bum. He gripped his stomach and groaned as a tremor coursed through him. From her experience, today and maybe tomorrow would be the worst, but after that, he should recover nicely.
Good. She would need his strength to help Sara keep moving. Her detox would take much longer than his.
Reaching down, she caressed the woman’s sweaty forehead. “It’s going to be all right, Sara. Hang in there.” Laying her hand on the woman’s shoulder she prayed, “In Jesus’ name, be healed. Remove the poison from this woman’s body and fill her with Your strength, Lord.”
Sara moaned out a thank you, and Tori knew that, despite her prayer, the poor girl would probably suffer the consequences of her actions. God was a parent, and it would do no good to let people off the hook for their bad choices. She only prayed God would minimize the pain. As He had done for Tori when she’d finally given up her drugs.
After they’d gotten Sara to walk with assistance, Tori had quickly ushered them out of government housing. It wasn’t safe for them there, especially if that drone had gotten a good look at Thomas. Yet, walking nearly eight hours in the heat of the day certainly hadn’t helped anyone. Tori kept checking in with the Lord, asking Him which way to go to avoid cameras and drones—an impossible task in these times—so, at His leading, they’d stuck to back streets, alleyways, and abandoned farmland, heading north. They’d stopped once in the shade of a tall building and shared a loaf of bread Tori had taken from Sara’s apartment, along with several bottles of water. Then when the sun had begun to set, they happened upon an abandoned orange grove and set across it to find a place to sleep.
What used to be rows and rows of green bushy trees dripping with plump oranges was now nothing but blackened earth with burnt tree trunks and spindly branches lining up like Halloween ghouls waiting for candy. Tori had prayed for more food since the bread was gone and they were all hungry. And the Lord answered by leading them to a single tree in the middle of the field upon which hung five juicy oranges. It wasn’t much, but it was the sweetest thing she had tasted in a long while.
Opening her eyes, she glanced around the small shack, wishing she could see the angels guarding them.
Wind blew against a door that was half off its hinges, sending ascreechthrough the tiny room that was empty except for a few garden tools and a couple of empty crates. Two grimy windows looked out upon a world shrouded in darkness, evil, and deceit.
Tori closed her eyes. Who was she to lead these people to Nyla and Calan’s sanctuary, UnderHisWings? It was at least a four-hundred-mile trek, and without any safe transportation, it would take them two weeks or more to get there. All with a nursing mother and her two children, a drug addict going through withdrawals, and a man she wasn’t quite sure she could trust.
She glanced his way. He was staring at her but quickly shifted his gaze away. Yet even in the scattered light of a half-moon, she spotted confusion in his eyes.
“What did you think of your NWU housing?” she asked.
He huffed. “Ah…not what I expected.”
“I bet.”
“Not what I was told,” he added more sternly. “I didn’t know, Tori. They told us it was luxury living and people willingly went.”
“Peopledidgowillingly at first. Because of the lies. Then, afterward, when the truth became known, they began to force people.”
Rubbing the back of his neck, he released a heavy sigh. “What about the virtual reality goggles? That stuff is expensive, and I’m sure it provides a lot of entertainment.”
“Yeah, sure. If you want to live a fake life in a fake world with fake friends and a fake job.” Tori couldn’t believe how naive the man was. “Not to mention, there’s nothing but perversion and evil in that virtual world. People having sex with everyone and anything…”
One side of his lips quirked. “Like I said, entertaining.”
“You just don’t get it, do you? They give the VR goggles to people to keep them busy, keep them comatose, keep them quiet and subdued so they won’t rebel against the tyranny imposed upon them.”
Thomas scratched the stubble on his jaw but said nothing.
“And your universal income,” Tori added. “Giving people free money and free stuff only demoralizes them, robbing them of their will to live, to work, to thrive, to create something of their own, to live as God intended.”
“Tori, I mean no disrespect, but isn’t it your God who wants to enslave people to do His will and obey His commands? How is that any different from what the NWU is doing?”
